Justice delayed

Twenty-four   years ago, Mazhar Farooq was arrested on the charge of murder.Last week, after spending 24 years in jail, Farooq was declared innocent by the honourable Supreme Court. Two days later, he was released. Farooq was amongst the lucky ones. He lost 24 years of his life, but was given justice before his life was taken. Others have not been so lucky. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court acquitted two brothers of a murder charge.        Tragically, they had been executed a year ago. Over the past two years, questions have continued to be raised over the ability of Pakistan’s justice system to deliver justice. While the acquittals seem to suggest that the justice system is still working, long delays continue to clog the system. Farooq’s case only reinforces this point. An innocent man lost 24 years of his life languishing in the Kot Lakhpat Jail. The case ended up consuming all of the farmland he had owned before he was falsely convicted. Farooq was not poor, but by the time he left the confines of prison, he was a man changed – both materially and emotionally, no doubt.

The truly remarkable thing is that cases like Farooq’s do not shock us. Calls for judicial reform have barely come from outside official circles or international donors. In Farooq’s case, the SC noted that the pistol presented as evidence was not his. For 24 years, no one else in the system noted this simple detail. There is no doubt that there are hundreds of other cases like Farooq’s. In October this year, another man – Mazhar Hussain – was found innocent of a murder committed in jail. He had died in jail two years ago. One can probably compile a long list of such cases. Judicial reform in the country has been too slow – if at all. After NAP was formulated, focus returned to reforming the judicial system,         but restarting executions has produced a more trigger-happy system.        It seems that there is a belief that the higher the number of death penalties awarded, the more effective the judicial system will be perceived to be. It is only at the level of the SC where cases lingering in the system for decades have been struck down. Judicial reform, in the true sense of dispensing speedy but fair justice to people, is still a pipedream. Farooq has gotten justice but 24 years too late. The case should force both the government and the judiciary to jointly undertake a serious assessment of how to sort both delays and false convictions in the system. Only this can restore trust in Pakistan’s justice system.